Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”. (Matthew 5:17-20)

We ask ourselves, “What is the absolute source of truth? What is the absolute standard of morality? What is the absolute rule of justice? Where does this evil society, floating on a sea of relativism, find its anchor?” That’s the question. Is there a standard to live by? Is there an absolute authority? Is there an unchanging authority, and inviolable law?

From the words in Matthew 5:17 to 20, we find that, indeed, there is. And that law is none other than the law of God. And Jesus said, “Not one jot or tittle will pass from that law, till everything is fulfilled.” He did not come in any whit to set it aside, but to fulfill it. And anybody who teaches somebody to break the least of those commandments is the least in the kingdom. In other words, God has laid down an absolute, eternal, abiding law. In fact, in John 17:17, Jesus said to the Father, “Thy word is truth.”

People today want to reinterpret the Bible. They want to deny its authority. Chapters we once believed to be written by God are now said to be written by some rabbi who added it in. Portions of the Scripture that we don’t agree with or don’t want to abide by, we just shuffle off out of the picture. We reinterpret the verses to say what we want them to say. We say, “Well, that’s cultural and it doesn’t relate to today,” anything at all to evade allowing the Bible to confront us at our time and place in the history of the world.

Well, Jesus is saying not one jot or tittle shall pass from it; every bit of it will be fulfilled. I am not abrogating or annulling one whit of it, and anyone who teaches anyone else to disobey the smallest command in the Bible will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. Nothing ever changes in the Bible, nothing.

Excerpt from message by John MacArthur “Christ and the Law”